2008
Press Release
30 April 2008
Ireland will fall behind in protecting Innovation from 1 May 2008
The Irish Exporters Association welcomed the London Agreement, which was ratified by the EC and enters into force on the 1 May 2008, across 14 member states.
However the IEA stated that, as Ireland has not ratified the new Agreement, we will be seen as a backwater in terms of Intellectual Property (IP) protection and the promotion of technology based business.
John Whelan, Chief Executive of the IEA, stated;
“Countries who have signed up to the London Agreement, which includes the UK, Germany and France, will give businesses located in these countries a competitive edge in attracting new technology investors.‘’
“We are advised by the European Patent Office that the London Agreement will cut the cost of a Patent Application in the 14 countries by 40%, a saving of 10,000 euro, on average.
This is a major saving to any company, but particularly to companies on limited budget. And whereas some of the benefit will acrue to Irish companies, the full benefit will only come if we ratify the London agreement.
This is not something we can ignore and we will be putting pressure on the Government to sign up to the agreement, at the earliest possible date.’’
Dr Christina Gates, Managing Partner in the leading Irish patent attorneys, Tomkins IP, stated;
“The aim of the Agreement is to create a cost attractive translation regime for European patents. The parties to the Agreement undertake to waive, entirely or largely, the requirement for translations of European patents to be filed in their national language. This means in practice that European patent proprietors will no longer have to file a translation of the specification for patents granted.”
She went on to say;
“The fact that Ireland has not ratified the Agreement means that, for example, a German company who filed their patent in German will still have to translate their patent into English in order for it to have effect in Ireland. Since the UK no longer requires an English translation, foreign companies may find the translation costs too high to justify filing in Ireland”.
“This breakthrough on the language issue will significantly reduce the cost of European patents, and should be ratified as soon as possible by the Irish Government”.
The IEA gave further information on the issues as follows;
- Since the 1970’s, companies seeking patent protection in Europe have been able to file a single application in English, French or German (the official languages of the EU patent protection process) at the European Patent Office.
- However, once protection is granted, each member country has demanded that the application is translated into it’s own official langauge.
- As a consequence, many companies only sought protection in a core group of countries - UK, Germany, France. Now companies can buy patent protection across London Agreement countries at a single low cost.
John Whelan concluded by saying;
“If we are serious about promoting higher added value exports and technology acquisition we need to facilitate foreign businesses to have their innovations protected in Ireland, easily and at lowest cost. Hence, it is imperative the Government loose no more time in ratifying this London Agreement.’’
The IEA and Tomkins IP have collaborated to produce the “Intellectual Propery Guide for Exporters” which has been aclaimed as a best practice publication in the field. Copies can be obtained from either the IEA or Thomkins IP.
The 14 ratifying countries where the London agreement comes into force on the Ist May are shown below .
For further information, contact;
John Whelan, Irish Exporters Association
Tel: + 353 1 661 2182
Mob: 087 9271243
Email: iea@irishexporters.org
Status of Accession & Ratification
The London Agreement will enter into force on 1 May 2008, across the 14 countries listed below.
| EPC Contracting State | Signature | Instrument of | Deposited on |
| Austria | |||
| Belgium | |||
| Bulgaria | |||
| Croatia | ------ | accession | 31.10.2007 |
| Cyprus | |||
| Czech Republic | |||
| Denmark | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 18.1.2008 |
| Estonia | |||
| Finland | |||
| France | 29.6.2001 | ratification | 29.1.2008 |
| Germany | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 19.2.2004 |
| Greece | |||
| Hungary | |||
| Iceland | ------ | accession | 31.8.2004 |
| Ireland | |||
| Italy | |||
| Latvia | ------ | accession | 5.4.2005 |
| Liechtenstein | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 23.11.2006 |
| Lithuania | |||
| Luxembourg | 20.3.2001 | ratification | 18.9.2007 |
| Malta | |||
| Monaco | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 12.11.2003 |
| Netherlands | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 5.10.2006 |
| Norway | |||
| Poland | |||
| Portugal | |||
| Romania | |||
| Slovak Republic | |||
| Slovenia | ------ | accession | 18.9.2002 |
| Spain | |||
| Sweden | 17.10.2000 | ||
| Switzerland | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 12.6.2006 |
| Turkey | |||
| United Kingdom | 17.10.2000 | ratification | 15.8.2005 |
About the Irish Exporters Association (IEA)
The IEA represents the needs of export industry ensuring that the necessary conditions are created and the necessary support is provided to assist companies to maximise their export sales. The IEA draws its membership from every exporting sector, ensuring that the interests of all industries are represented and promoted at the highest level.
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